It is with deep regret that we announce the death on October 15, 2013 of Professor Emeritus Ernest Stewart Lee.

E. Stewart Lee, Stewart to his friends, was born in Montreal on June 7, 1934. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Engineering Physics and a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering at McGill University, in 1956 and 1958 respectively. He completed his doctorate in 1965 at University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Emeritus Gordon R. Slemon (ECE), and was appointed as an Assistant Professor in both Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in 1966.

He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1967. Professor Emeritus Lee spent a sabbatical year as a Visiting Professor at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England in 1973-74, before becoming a full Professor in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1975.

Professor Emeritus Lee was a dedicated teacher and researcher whose influence on both ECE and Computer Science Departments is still felt today. He was enormously influential in incorporating computer engineering into what had historically been a purely electrical engineering department, and played a crucial role in creating the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) in 1968, uniting computing investigators in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He served as its founding chairman from 1969-73, and again from 1977-80. As a result of its success, it became the Computer Systems Research Institute (CSRI) in 1984, and continued into the 1990s.

Along with his colleague the late Professor Emeritus Peter Boulton (ECE), Professor Emeritus Lee was instrumental in establishing computing facilities, first in Electrical Engineering and then extending to the Faculty, becoming today’s ECF. In addition to creating an extensive computer room in the Sandford Fleming building, they were responsible for the first IBM 360 computer at the University, a Model 44.

Professor Lee’s research covered a wide range of topics in the area of computer software and computer networks, including network architecture, protocols and security.  Perhaps he will be best remembered for his collaboration with Professor Peter Boulton resulting in the invention of Hubnet – a new conceptual structure for a fibre optic network capable of operating at very high speed. A pilot model of Hubnet was built and used in the ECE department for many years, operating at 50 Mbits/sec, at the time the fastest operating network anywhere.

Professor Lee held many important administrative positions at the University, including being a Member of the Governing Council from 1977-81 and the Speaker of the Faculty Council from 1984-88. He was elected as a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, a Fellow of the British Computer Society as well as CGRT. He was awarded an M.A. from Cambridge University, and later accepted an appointment as a Professor at Cambridge University. His many graduate students, from all over the world, became friends and continued to regularly visit both in Canada and abroad.

Throughout his career, Professor Lee was much sought-after as a systems and software consultant, advising such clients as IBM, Marconi-Elliott Computer Systems Ltd., the Department of National Defence, Toronto Credits Ltd., and Metropolitan Toronto’s Ambulance Services and Police Commission, among many others.

Professor Lee had a profound and wide-reaching effect on the ECE community. The sad news of his passing affected many of our professors, and several shared their recollections:

“Upon my return to Toronto in 1965, I first met Stewart Lee. Interestingly enough, we both shared an unusual background—our Ph.D. studies were in the area of magnetics, and then we both drifted into computing, I with a hardware emphasis, and he with a software emphasis. Correspondingly, we quickly became the co-chairs of the newly established Computer Group in EE … Stewart had a natural inclination to think broadly and diversely.”
–K.C. Smith , Emeritus Professor and ECE Chair, 1976-81

“Stew’s foresight had a lasting effect on our department. He was instrumental in bringing software into the Department of Electrical Engineering, and he played a key role in morphing “Electrical Engineering” into “Electrical and Computer Engineering.” It was his efforts that resulted in our department having a lasting great, collaborative relationship with the Department of Computer Science … He was the one who brought me here to Toronto.”
–Michael Stumm (ECE),  Professor

“Stewart taught me Structures and Algorithms as an undergraduate, and I remember how he had this great, sly humour in class that I found truly refreshing. He will be missed.”
–Khoman Phang (ECE),  Professor

Stewart died suddenly at home in Orillia.

A memorial reception will be held at the University of Toronto on Friday, November 29, 2013 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at The Faculty Club. The address is 41 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario  M5S 1C7.

Flags on campus will be lowered to half-mast that day in honour of Professor Lee.

Obituary in The Globe and Mail

Send a message of condolence through the Mundell Funeral Home

What does it take to earn a gold medal at the North American iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition? For the gold medal-winning team from U of T’s IBBME, it can be summed up in just one word: safety.

This year’s iGEM competition, hosted earlier this month at Hart House, brought 550 students from across North America to compete in one of science’s newest fields: synthetic biology. A panel of judges scored teams on three required components – scientific research, human practices, and safety – of a major, year-long research project.

The U of T team modeled its study on further understanding the ability of E. coli bacteria to form biofilms as a stress response, which allows individual bacteria to become a large, functional unit. But it was the 11-member team’s “foundational advance” component that caught the judges’ attention.

“We decided to go with a new safety standard,” said Adam Komorowski, a third-year Immunology and Molecular Genetics & Microbiology student and outgoing president of the U of T iGEM team.

It was a dimension to the project that evolved from a very personal story: this past July, Komorowski experienced the very real consequences of safety issues in his lab when he had a serious accident. Despite wearing protective safety gear and having diligently practiced safety protocols, Komorowski suffered injuries.

“That sort of shifted our attention,” Komorowski said. “We have all these protocols in place: wear this, do that. We realized that eventually the amount of rules being enforced gets in the way of actually saying, ‘I have something dangerous in my hands’.”

The group devoted a large component of their project on a new safety training package modeled on the kind of training received by lifeguards and paramedics.

“We developed situational exercises where we mock a bunch of situations that could happen in the lab,” Komorowski said.

The units involve role-playing scenarios: one team member takes on the role of the victim in a simulated safety accident while a supervisor evaluates the team’s reactions. In all, the team developed six units, which they made available through the team’s website.

Ultimately, the team was awarded a gold medal for their overall project; however, due to the way teams are scored they will not advance to the world championships.

Nevertheless, the medal was an unexpected validation for the team’s first-ever appearance at a competition. “I’m impressed at how well we did for a team with so little previous experience,” said Boris Dyakov, lab manager for the team.

Fourth-year Chemical Engineering major Michael Yu described the year-long research towards the competition as a real-life learning curve.

“When experiments give few results and progress is slow even into August, there’s nothing you can do except to dig your heels into the science and be that much more disciplined and organized.”

Since its debut at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) just under a decade ago, iGEM has evolved into a renowned international synthetic biology competition.

For the fourth year in a row, nearly 70 girls in their tween years converged at U of T to take part in Go ENG Girl. The event, which took place on October 19, is part of a province-wide, one-day program that gives girls a chance to visit their local university to learn about engineering from women professionals and students.

U of T’s event was organized by Engineering students through the Engineering Student Outreach Office.

“Having an all-girls’ program shows how many girls are interested, and what female students can and are doing in the field, really shows that it’s an option for young girls to consider,” said Maisha Zaman (IndE 1T4 + PEY).

Accompanied by their parents, the girls were introduced to learning opportunities at U of T Engineering, participated in hands-on workshops with U of T Engineering students, and heard from a panel on what it takes to be an engineer.

After introductions, girls and their families were split into teams where they spent the morning creating large frames in the shape of geodesic domes out of rolled-up newspaper. The activity gave Engineering students a chance to instruct participants on the importance of shapes in building design, as well as the value of working as a team.

“This program gives girls exposure to engineering. I think the belief that engineering is a male-dominated profession scares a lot of girls off,” said Zaman. U of T Engineering students who helped at the event were all female.

After the workshop, the girls and their parents attended a panel made up of undergraduate and graduate students where they could ask questions about the U of T Engineering program, what different fields of engineering are like, and what the transition is like between high school and university.

Zaman, who participated in other U of T Engineering outreach events such as DEEP, has been with the Engineering Student Outreach Office since arriving at U of T. She says events such as Go ENG Girl are a great way for U of T Engineering students to demonstrate the skills they’ve learned in their studies. And outreach programs are important for attracting girls to engineering.

“You have to learn how to manage your time wisely,” said Sakina Essajee (CivE 1T4) when one participant asked what the biggest adjustment was for a high school student going into university. “There is no one looking over your shoulder making sure you get things done – that’s a big change.”

Zaman, who also sat on the panel, hopes that the girls at the event come away with at least one key message.

“Engineering opens doors,” she says. That’s something I’ve learned in my personal experience. You can do so much with an engineering degree that people just don’t realize.”

This year, a total of 15 universities across Ontario hosted Go ENG Girl events. In partnership with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), Go ENG Girl is part of a provincial program to promote and inspire young girls considering a career in engineering.

The University of Toronto’s Engineering Student Outreach Office (ESOO) seeks to engage youth in STEM. ESOO designs and delivers a host of interactive pre-university programs taught by our undergraduate and graduate students. Outreach programs foster the engagement of pre-university students – particularly among underrepresented communities. The programs also play an important role in enhancing Engineering students’ abilities as teachers.

U of T Engineering students Tarek El Fedawy (IndE 1T3 + PEY), Kazem Kutob (IndE 1T3 + PEY), Layan Kutob (IndE 1T2 + PEY, MEng 1T4) and Alberto Picard-Ami (IndE 1T3 + PEY) recently finished second in the Wharton Consulting Competition.

The win marks the third consecutive year the team placed second, surpassing competitors from universities, including Harvard and Northwestern.

The competition took place at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the top business schools in North America and the world. This year, the theme of the competition was ‘Global Operating Expense Transformation.’

The challenge: a bank that had to reduce over $1-billion in annual operating expenses over three years. Teams were required to build a strategic plan that would facilitate the creation of a roadmap to deliver operational savings and expense transformation.

The U of T Engineering team proposed a framework and strategies that tackled, assessed and prioritized deficiencies in areas of labour, technology and the bank’s operating model.

Participants were judged by major sponsoring firms including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Accenture and L.E.K. Consulting. Though first place went to the University of Pennsylvania, U of T has maintained its impressive track record in the contest.

“Being a finalist and placing second, three years in a row, in such a tough competition is an achievement that the team is very proud of,” said El Fedawy. “It is a testament to the quality of education and extracurricular activities at U of T, and how well it has groomed us to solve real-life, complex business problems.”

“On behalf of the Faculty, I congratulate the team on their tremendous success over the past three years,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “Their second place finish demonstrates how our engineering students are developing the skills and experience to make an impact on the world and become tomorrow’s business leaders.”

The Wharton Consulting Conference is organized by the Wharton Undergraduate Consulting Club. Now in its third year, the event has grown to include 18 participating universities from across North America.

Professor Arthur Porter (MIE), (1910-2010), founding Chair of U of T’s Industrial Engineering program, has been posthumously inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is a central part of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. It honours individuals whose outstanding scientific or technological achievements have had long-term implications for Canadians.

In a lifetime that spanned a century, Arthur Porter was a groundbreaking engineer, scientist and academic, as well as an influential advisor to industry and governments. He was a pioneer in a number of fields, including control theory, servomechanisms and industrial engineering.

In 1962, Professor Porter became founding Chair of the new Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Toronto, one of the first industrial engineering programs in the world. Under Professor Porter’s leadership it focused on two brand new fields, operations research and human factors, which are now used throughout commerce, industry and health care. He was also instrumental in working with the Dean of Medicine to establish the Institute of Biomedical Electronics (now the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering).

In the early 1960s, Professor Porter chaired the Ontario Commission on Automation and Employment. He was subsequently Scientific Advisor for the creation of a new Ontario Science Museum, which became the Ontario Science Centre. He also served as Chair of the Canadian Environmental Advisory Council, a group of scientists established by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau to advise him on environmental problems. In 1975, he resigned from U of T to take on the position of Chair of the Ontario Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning.

Arthur Porter was awarded the Order of Canada in 1988. Other honours include the Canadian Centenary Medal, the Canadian Confederation Medal, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.

“Professor Porter has joined the many U of T alumni and professors recognized by this prestigious institution,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “A key figure in the development of U of T Engineering into a world-leading program, he is most deserving of this honour.”

Professor Porter was inducted into the Hall of Fame on October 22, as part of National Science and Technology Week.

University of Toronto researchers have developed a method that can rapidly screen human stem cells and better control what they will turn into. The technology could have potential use in regenerative medicine and drug development. Findings are published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature Methods.

“The work allows for a better understanding of how to turn stem cells into clinically useful cell types more efficiently,” according to Emanuel Nazareth, a PhD student at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) at the University of Toronto. The research comes out of the lab of Professor Peter Zandstra, Canada Research Chair in Bioengineering at U of T.

The researchers used human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC), cells which have the potential to differentiate and eventually become any type of cell in the body. But the key to getting stem cells to grow into specific types of cells, such as skin cells or heart tissue, is to grow them in the right environment in culture, and there have been challenges in getting those environments (which vary for different types of stem cells) just right, Nazareth said.

The researchers developed a high-throughput platform, which uses robotics and automation to test many compounds or drugs at once, with controllable environments to screen hPSCs in. With it, they can control the size of the stem cell colony, the density of cells, and other parameters in order to better study characteristics of the cells as they differentiate or turn into other cell types. Studies were done using stem cells in micro-environments optimized for screening and observing how they behaved when chemical changes were introduced.

It was found that two specific proteins within stem cells, Oct4 and Sox2, can be used to track the four major early cell fate types that stem cells can turn into, allowing four screens to be performed at once.

“One of the most frustrating challenges is that we have different research protocols for different cell types. But as it turns out, very often those protocols don’t work across many different cell lines,” Nazareth said.

The work also provides a way to study differences across cell lines that can be used to predict certain genetic information, such as abnormal chromosomes. What’s more, these predictions can be done in a fraction of the time compared to other existing techniques, and for a substantially lower cost compared to other testing and screening methods.

“We anticipate this technology will underpin new strategies to identify cell fate control molecules, or even drugs, for a number of different stem cell types,” Zandstra said.

As a drug screening technology “it’s a dramatic improvement over its predecessors,” said Nazareth. He notes that in some cases, the new technology can drop testing time from up to a month to a mere two days.

Professor Peter Zandstra was awarded the 2013 Till & McCulloch Award in recognition of this contribution to global stem cell research.

About IBBME
The Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) is an interdisciplinary unit allowing a remarkable degree of integration and collaboration across three Faculties at the University of Toronto: Applied Science & Engineering, Dentistry and Medicine. The Institute pursues research in four areas: neural, sensory systems and rehabilitation engineering; biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; molecular imaging and biomedical nanotechnology; and, medical devices and clinical technologies.